Pool Chairs...staking claim

[Jennifer777]

1) When some of you say you wait for 30, 45. 60 minutes and if the people haven't returned you move their stuff - are you really watching those chairs all that time? Did you not move on and find another spot and go on about your day?

Parents are expected to remain close when their children are swimming so yes, people do end up watching and waiting for 30, 45, 60 minutes, standing in the pool area, oftentimes while multiple chairs are not being used, but are reserved with towels.

 

[hanna-nana]

Maybe have them do this before entering the theater. The doors do not open till 8 and the show starts at 8:30 so if you have them do their business at 7:55 then you could probably avoid this. There is a bathroom right outside the theater doors. I know things don't always go as planned however if you do it this way you won't get 'the looks' that you may if 5 of you aren't there to show they are not saved seats. Other wise in the time you take in the bathroom you may find your seats are taken by someone who says to bad, so sad.
Not being mean in anything I said. Just trying to help with an issue that could arise.

This would be ideal, yes, but my 3 yr old has a talent for needing the toilet at the most inconvenient times. How long are the shows? I guess we're still a year away so maybe it won't be an issue by then. LOL

 

[tinkerone]

This would be ideal, yes, but my 3 yr old has a talent for needing the toilet at the most inconvenient times. How long are the shows? I guess we're still a year away so maybe it won't be an issue by then. LOL

Show starts at 8:30 and end at 9:30. Now that is if you have early dining, if you have late dining your shows are before you go to dinner. Shows are an hour long.
I know exactly what your talking about with a 3 year old. They never quite know what they need when they need it. lol.

 

[BigredNole]

I asked the original question because I was not sure what happens on a cruise. I was visiting family over the weekend. One of their friends just got back from a cruise (not sure if it was Fantasy or Dream). Their experience was that it was a "Pirate Cruise". They said people had personal belongings on chairs before 8AM. By 9AM, there were no chairs available in the pool area and none ever freed up the entire day, even on port days. They said because of the behavior, they either had to conform to it or not have a place near the pool for the day. So they took their pool bag, stuck it on a chair in the morning so they had it for the day. They didn't start out doing this, but had to in order to have a place by the pool.

I am not sure what can be done on a cruise ship that has 4,000+ people and say 500 chairs (just throwing a number out). The numbers just don't work.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I don't think that people should be reserving towels and then leaving for extended periods of time - you should be in the pool area if you reserved a chair. So I think it's fair that if you see a chair unattended for a long time you should be able to remove the towel. But I also think that people are taking that to the extreme as well sometimes, removing towels even though they are not actually sure if someone has been gone for a while. It happened to us, I put a towel down and decided I was going to get another towel (son and I were sharing a chair) and so I walked to the towels area, came back 1 minute later and someone took my chair. The lady said that it was "unattended for at least 1/2 hr so she took it"
I also think it would help if families share chairs, for example family of 4 with 2 kids may only need 2 or 3 chairs, not 4. I know that my kid rarely comes out of the pool and actually sits on the chair. If he does, it's for a few minutes then he's off again.

 

[Bree]

Another big problem is that people just leave their wet dirty towels on the chairs when they leave instead of putting them in the used towel bins. It looks like someone is being a chair piggy, but the chair is actually vacant. If I'm looking for a place to sit, I usually ask whoever is sitting near those chairs if they are being used and 99% of the time they have seen no one there.

 

[Snurk71]

If you are in the pool area (in eyesight of your belongings) you're good. If someone starts to move your stuff, you can call out or go over and talk to them.

We're lamenting about those people who show up at sunrise and drop various (single) personal items - a flip-flop; a book; a hat; whatever and then retreat to their rooms, or elsewhere onboard to do something not water/pool related. Then come back (usually after lunch) and expect their prime location is still only "theirs". Yes, I've seen it.

Playing a little devil advocates here - so someone is supposed to keep a watch on their chair for someone else moving they stuff instead of enjoying themselves in the pool, at Nemo's reef with their kid, hanging out on satellite falls, or waiting in line 45 minutes for the aquaduck?

I understand the case people talk about (dropping off a flip flop at 8 and coming back at noon), but I was picking at how one determines that case. I think it's completely reasonable/normal for someone to not be in their lounger for an hour, but still have that lounger reserved. So I don't understand if some people actually stalk a lounger for that long - hovering over it, watching it. Seems odd to me - I know I'd probably move on.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Playing a little devil advocates here - so someone is supposed to keep a watch on their chair for someone else moving they stuff instead of enjoying themselves in the pool, at Nemo's reef with their kid, hanging out on satellite falls, or waiting in line 45 minutes for the aquaduck?

I understand the case people talk about (dropping off a flip flop at 8 and coming back at noon), but I was picking at how one determines that case. I think it's completely reasonable/normal for someone to not be in their lounger for an hour, but still have that lounger reserved. So I don't understand if some people actually stalk a lounger for that long - hovering over it, watching it. Seems odd to me - I know I'd probably move on.

Well, the AquaDuck has cubbies you can use. And I'd be putting my stuff on a chair in the vicinity of whatever activity I'm engaged in. So that I could keep an eye on it. Yes, even if it meant moving my stuff if I went from, say, Mickey's pool to Satellite Falls.

 

[Fladis32]

It really is what many people do. Maybe you wouldn't be so rude, PP, but many people are. If you alert a CM and let them deal with it, it really can work just fine. Shade is in high demand for me and if I see a chair that is clearly marked with placeholder items, then I will query. Disney clearly states this in every Navigator, I just do my part to make sure they enforce their own rule. If someone is clear across ship, IMO, they shouldn't be hogging a chair.

 

[Jennifer777]

I think it's completely reasonable/normal for someone to not be in their lounger for an hour, but still have that lounger reserved.

But, reserving chairs is not allowed...period. DCL doesn't have any qualifiers or exceptions for this policy for a reason. There are very few chairs compared to the number of passengers on board. I can understand the frustration when there is no other place to keep your stuff other than on the wet ground. I wish they would put some small lockers or cubbies in so this wasn't an issue any longer. Until they do though, I wouldn't be mad if I left my stuff on a chair, went to ride the aqua duck and came back an hour later to find my things moved. On the contrary, I would expect it, because I would technically be violating the policy by reserving that chair while I was gone.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Sometimes it is taught behavior too. Just spent a week at an east coast beach area. We set up on the beach at 730am one morning (and stayed there/in and out of water). Beach fills up with groups etc. a large extended family comes to squeeze in between our stuff and lifeguard chair. They were on our towels, they placed their chairs in front of and touching our chairs. They got a huge bucket of fries and brought it out -now seagulls were flying and pooping so much that the lifeguard had to remove the bucket as the family had left the fries out and open for all of them to get in the water. Once back in chairs (and tramping across our towels and blocking our chairs) several adults started chain smoking. So, what do you think the various kids in the group learned from this? We set up in a different area next day.

 

[Snurk71]

But, reserving chairs is not allowed...period. DCL doesn't have any qualifiers or exceptions for this policy for a reason. There are very few chairs compared to the number of passengers on board. I can understand the frustration when there is no other place to keep your stuff other than on the wet ground. I wish they would put some small lockers or cubbies in so this wasn't an issue any longer. Until they do though, I wouldn't be mad if I left my stuff on a chair, went to ride the aqua duck and came back an hour later to find my things moved. On the contrary, I would expect it, because I would technically be violating the policy by reserving that chair while I was gone.

Different people have different definitions of what "reserved" means (a little bit of semantics). My definition doesn't match yours - if I'm sitting in my chair for an hour, leave my chair for 5 minutes (which means I'm not using it for those 5 minutes), I don't think I'm "reserving" it for those 5 minutes I'm gone. Do you? Maybe you do. Does Disney? No one really knows.

The point of my question is to challenge the thought that because you don't see someone in a chair for 15 minutes - that doesn't mean they planted stuff at 8 in the morning. Give some benefit to the doubt and go on about enjoying your vacation.

 

[Jennifer777]

Different people have different definitions of what "reserved" means (a little bit of semantics). My definition doesn't match yours - if I'm sitting in my chair for an hour, leave my chair for 5 minutes (which means I'm not using it for those 5 minutes), I don't think I'm "reserving" it for those 5 minutes I'm gone. Do you? Maybe you do. Does Disney? No one really knows.

The point of my question is to challenge the thought that because you don't see someone in a chair for 15 minutes - that doesn't mean they planted stuff at 8 in the morning. Give some benefit to the doubt and go on about enjoying your vacation.

I highlighted your original quote because you actually used the word "reserved" when describing that scenario of leaving for an hour so I'm not sure our definitions differ as much as you might think. All the "no reserving chairs" signs/notices don't have exceptions for if you're only reserving it for an hour or are just reserving it while using the aqua duck or off eating lunch. Reserving is reserving, regardless of the reason and DCL prohibits it. With that being said, I don't think anyone has advocated for or would find it reasonable to move someone's towel or belongings if they get up for 5 to 20 minutes to grab a drink, take a quick dip in the pool or use the restroom. We're not vultures circling the pool deck just waiting for someone's bottom to leave a chair so we can swoop in and steal it, but people shouldn't have to stand for long periods of time by the pool while a dozen or more of the limited chairs in that area are "reserved" with towels and personal items, sometimes for hours at a time while not being used.

 

[cgolf]

I highlighted your original quote because you actually used the word "reserved" when describing that scenario of leaving for an hour so I'm not sure our definitions differ as much as you might think. All the "no reserving chairs" signs/notices don't have exceptions for if you're only reserving it for an hour or are just reserving it while using the aqua duck or off eating lunch. Reserving is reserving, regardless of the reason and DCL prohibits it. With that being said, I don't think anyone has advocated for or would find it reasonable to move someone's towel or belongings if they get up for 5 to 20 minutes to grab a drink, take a quick dip in the pool or use the restroom. We're not vultures circling the pool deck just waiting for someone's bottom to leave a chair so we can swoop in and steal it, but people shouldn't have to stand for long periods of time by the pool while a dozen or more of the limited chairs in that area are "reserved" with towels and personal items, sometimes for hours at a time while not being used.

Some of the posts have me wondering, because right before a show starts I always use the restroom, it is a mental thing that I have had since I was a kid, nerves, I don't know. So since we always sit in the back of the theater anyway, I leave for anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes depending on the line or lack there of. To me that should be allowed and ok, we aren't saving a row of seats, I will be back quickly.

 

[Snurk71]

I highlighted your original quote because you actually used the word "reserved" when describing that scenario of leaving for an hour so I'm not sure our definitions differ as much as you might think. All the "no reserving chairs" signs/notices don't have exceptions for if you're only reserving it for an hour or are just reserving it while using the aqua duck or off eating lunch. Reserving is reserving, regardless of the reason and DCL prohibits it. With that being said, I don't think anyone has advocated for or would find it reasonable to move someone's towel or belongings if they get up for 5 to 20 minutes to grab a drink, take a quick dip in the pool or use the restroom. We're not vultures circling the pool deck just waiting for someone's bottom to leave a chair so we can swoop in and steal it, but people shouldn't have to stand for long periods of time by the pool while a dozen or more of the limited chairs in that area are "reserved" with towels and personal items, sometimes for hours at a time while not being used.

I used the word "reserved" intentionally because my read of earlier comments indicated that if your butt isn't in the lounger - some would strictly interpret it to say you're technically reserving it, whether it be to go to the bathroom, fill your drink, jump in the pool, ride the aquaduck, whatever. So the question is - what constitutes "reserved"? Our definitions likely differ. So who decides that 5 minutes is OK, but 30 isn't? If someone isn't there you can't know why they're gone (drink, bathroom, pool, still in the room) - so you can't use that for your rule on when you move things.

Btw, I recently stayed at VB which is probably worse when it comes to reserving tables/unbrellas. By 9:00 every table/unbrella had stuff at it. Maybe half (probably less) had one person sitting at the table squatting rights. The others had the bag, clothes, etc. And no one was in the pool at that time - so I know it wasn't someone there. However - it didn't impact my trip. I just saw my stuff down elsewhere for the day.

 

[cgolf]

I used the word "reserved" intentionally because my read of earlier comments indicated that if your butt isn't in the lounger - some would strictly interpret it to say you're technically reserving it, whether it be to go to the bathroom, fill your drink, jump in the pool, ride the aquaduck, whatever. So the question is - what constitutes "reserved"? Our definitions likely differ. So who decides that 5 minutes is OK, but 30 isn't? If someone isn't there you can't know why they're gone (drink, bathroom, pool, still in the room) - so you can't use that for your rule on when you move things.

Btw, I recently stayed at VB which is probably worse when it comes to reserving tables/unbrellas. By 9:00 every table/unbrella had stuff at it. Maybe half (probably less) had one person sitting at the table squatting rights. The others had the bag, clothes, etc. And no one was in the pool at that time - so I know it wasn't someone there. However - it didn't impact my trip. I just saw my stuff down elsewhere for the day.

To me what makes the difference is if a spouse is in one lounger and states that their other half stepped out to grab food, use the restroom, etc and will be back shortly to use the lounger again. This is similar to my example above of myself before shows. If both chairs are empty, all bets are off, unless the person is actually in the pool, and they kindly ask you to leave their belongings in the chair because they were taking a dip in the pool and want to lounge after to dry off. There was an example early on in this thread of someone that swims laps early on the classics, we love to do this as well, and sets their belongings on a lounger.

To @Jennifer777 comment about parents of small children waiting, DCL should have the CMs enforce butt only in seat for the front row seats around the children's pools so that parents can keep an eye on their kids in the pool. With the recent pool issues this would be great, I want to stress though this would only be the front row seats for pool safety.

 

[Billinaz]

Honest question here, since we're planning our family cruise finally. As far as not saving seats in the theater goes....we are a family of 7. If we all show up early for seats, I'd love to have either DH or I run the littlest out to use the restroom before the show. This would likely mean the youngest 2, maybe 3 would go with. Is this not allowed? I'd really rather have them pee before the show than have to leave during and climb over people (though we always try for an aisle).

You are not saving the seats. The person occupying the seat got up to use the bathroom.

Its when a couple people come in and sit many seats apart to save the seats between them, only to have others show up much later so they can occupy the saved seats they were too lazy to wait in line for like everyone else that is the problem.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

You are not saving the seats. The person occupying the seat got up to use the bathroom.

Its when a couple people come in and site many seats apart to save the seats between them, only to have others show up much later so they can occupy the saved seats they were too lazy to wait in line for like everyone else that is the problem.

You got it right.

 

[Jennifer777]

Some of the posts have me wondering, because right before a show starts I always use the restroom, it is a mental thing that I have had since I was a kid, nerves, I don't know. So since we always sit in the back of the theater anyway, I leave for anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes depending on the line or lack there of. To me that should be allowed and ok, we aren't saving a row of seats, I will be back quickly.

Agree, and I think most would agree there's a big difference between going to the restroom for 5-10 minutes and sending one person early to reserve a row of seats in the front of the theater.

So the question is - what constitutes "reserved"? Our definitions likely differ. So who decides that 5 minutes is OK, but 30 isn't? If someone isn't there you can't know why they're gone (drink, bathroom, pool, still in the room) - so you can't use that for your rule on when you move things.

Which is why I would wait for at least half an hour before moving someone's towels/things. I agree that if you're just doing something quickly like using the restroom or getting a drink, you shouldn't have to give up your chair. In that case you're gone far less than half an hour and you're still in the area. If you leave the area for longer than half an hour though, the gracious thing to do is allow someone who actually is in that area to have that chair.

 

[afinnteach]

I think there are people who go to extremes on both sides. Putting a flip flop down at 8am and expecting your chair to be reserved hours later is wrong, so is (in my opinion) moving someone's belongings because you believe they have been gone too long. Both show signs of entitlement. This summer on vacation at Chautauqua in western NY, I had a medical malfunction with my insulin pump about 5 minutes before the lecture started. I had to leave to go to the restroom and fix it and before I returned my husband texted me to let me know that he had lost the "you cant save seats" battle with a zealot. I was dissapointed, I was looking forward to hearing the lecture and so was my husband. He stayed where he was and I sat in a seperate seat where I couldnt see the stage. That same week at an evening concert my mother in law needed to use the restroom (popular concert, so we were in our seats 1 hour prior). There was space for 2 people with my MIL gone, and a woman politely asked how many spots were free. I said 1, my MIL was at the restroom and since she was alone she took the vacant spot. It is all in how you treat each other and also how you ask and respond to the question of is the seat available. Personally, I dont want that much stress on my vacation, so I will (as Elsa suggests) let it go.